The Beginning of the End: A Lily Evans Story
by crazi4life
Summary: IN PROGRESS. :fifteen chapters up: It's Lily Evan's first year at Hogwarts and things are beginning to take an interesting twist. From getting her first enemy to jumping off a roof, Lily gets more than she bargained for.
1. Acceptance

A young girl, outstretched on the grass, looked up into the foggy sky. She'd pulled her crimson hair up into a messy ponytail to get it out of the way. Judging by her watch, it was six o'clock sharp. She'd been eleven for six hours… she didn't feel any older, but at least she was.

Something had woken her up, though she was unaware of just exactly what it was. She'd thought she had had a nightmare, but she couldn't remember. Every time she tried to focus on it, something told her not to.

After hearing the front door close, she sat up to see her sister, Petunia, leaving the house.

"Where are you going?"

"None of your business, Lily."

"Tell me or I'll wake dad," Lily warned.

Petunia rolled her eyes. "You're annoying even on your birthday. All right… but if I tell you, then you have to be my cover story in case mum and dad wake up. Understand?"

"All right."

"I'm going to meet Vernon," her face flushed. "We… we're dating now, and I don't want Daddy to know yet… and you'd better not tell him!"

"Eww… But he's… like… ugly; and, he has two chins."

"Are you implying he's _fat_?" she asked sharply. "Because if you are… let me just tell you something… He's… he's _big boned_. It runs in his family."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "If you say so. Yeah, I'll cover for you. Have fun."

"And you," she smiled. "You know, Lil, you really are all right sometimes."

As she skipped across the front yard, Lily lay back down, closing her eyes momentarily, when suddenly she heard something land next to her.

Heart racing, she opened her right eye, then her left. "Aww… what a beautiful owl. Why are you out here so early, my beautiful bird?"

That's when she noticed a letter tied to its foot. As she undid the wrapping, her eyes scanned her watch. It was already nearing seven o'clock.

Lily, after fumbling with the letter, read whom it was addressed to.

_Miss Lily Evans_

_Laying in the Grass_

_912 Master Pub Street_

Lily was shocked. Who would know exactly where she was? She spun around quickly to look for a spy, and felt foolish when no one came within view. Slipping her thumb under the seal, she pulled out the parchment and hurriedly began to read.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL_

_Of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

_Dear Miss Evans,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find and enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl no later than July 31._

_Yours sincerely,_

_**Minerva McGonagall**_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Lily was astonished. How could she be a witch? She sat on the lawn, pondering, until she was snapped out of her thoughts as Petunia trudged back towards the house. "What's that you've got there?"

"A letter."

"Never would've guessed that. Whose owl?"

"I dunno. Some lady named McGonagall."

"Well, let me see it then."

"All right," Lily replied hesitantly, then turned it over. "Well, what do you think?"

Her eyes had grown large. "A witch! A witch? Preposterous! You…! You're a _freak_!"

It was not the reaction Lily had expected. She took a step back, astounded. "A freak? Is that all you've got to say?"

"No, but I wonder what mum and dad will think!" she shouted as she raced into the house and into their parent's room. They were just getting up.

"What's going on here?" Mr. Evans asked, yawning.

Petunia shoved the letter under his nose. "It's about Lily. Go on, read it."

"No, not yet!" Lily exclaimed. "Where's mum…? I want her to be here for this."

Mrs. Evans stepped out of the bathroom. "Be here for what?"

"Well," Lily began, sitting tenderly on the edge of her parent's bed. "I… This school… Well, you see… I'm a witch. The letter says so, and even has a lady you can contact if you don't believe me. They've got this whole school to train kids like me, and I'm guessing that they want me there by the looks of it… If what they're saying is really possible, then can I go? Please… as a birthday present?"

"Well, if it's what you want," said Mr. Evans, whilst taking off his glasses and polishing them on his pajama shirt.

Lily threw her arms around his neck. "It is… more than _anything_! Thank you so much!"

"Though, mind you, we will be in contact with this… school… to make sure everything is how it seems. Now, come on, I'm starving for some blueberry pancakes." Mrs. Evans laughed as Lily's grin ceased to fall.


	2. Gringotts, Muggles, and James Potter

The next week, Lily awoke to her mother calling up the stairs. "Come on, Lily. I've got a twelve o'clock appointment with the president of Chuck and Micro's firm, so I'm going to have to drop you off while you go shopping."

She rushed out of bed and threw on a sweatshirt over her tank top. It was rainy and cold outside, so she also put on some thin jeans so they'd dry faster. After pulling up her hair, she ran downstairs.

"Good, you ready?" Mrs. Evans asked, while handing her daughter a piece of toast. They ran out to the car, trying to avoid getting wet. "All right… I'm going to give you three hundred pounds. I know that's a _lot _of money, but I talked to that McGonagall lady and she insisted that there is a bank in the shopping center. I want you to go straight there- _no stopping_- and deposit the money."

She pulled the car to a halt outside a dusty-looking bar.

"Where is it?" her mom asked, looking around.

Lily pointed. "Right there."

"I don't see it."

"Maybe only witches can."

"Maybe," she smiled. "Go on. I'm going to be late. See you around two. Love you."

"And you." Lily said, kissing her mum on the cheek. She walked over to the black door, the change jingling against the pounds in her pocket. When she walked inside, she felt like she was going to choke on the smoke filling the room. She walked up to the front of the bar and leaned against the counter.

A man with rusty hair spun in front of her. "How can I help you, little lady?"

"I was told I could reach Diagon Alley through this store…" replied Lily, looking around awkwardly.

He laughed. "Don't worry, it's not in here. Come on, I'll lead you out back. By the way, I'm Tom."

"Lily Evans," she shook his hand.

"Three up, two across," Tom said, hitting a brick wall with a stick.

To her surprise, the brick began to fold back, farther and farther, revealing a cobblestone path with people bustling about busily. She expected it to be raining and dreary like it was just a few minutes before, but, instead, the sun was shining brightly and it was warm.

"Thanks very much," she said, pulling off her sweatshirt.

"Anytime."

She walked through the barrier, then turned to watch as it formed back into place. She walked for about ten minutes, occasionally stopping to peer through windows. Her head was spinning; everything was so… out there.

Suddenly, she knocked into something heavy, and went flying across the ground. Some of her money fell out of her pockets.

A blurry object rushed to pick it up, the walked over to her. As her vision came back, she saw that it was actually a boy that looked about her age. He had messy black hair and brilliant blue eyes that ceased to shine behind his glasses. He was wearing a robe that was very nicely trimmed… besides his hair, it looked as if he was very well groomed and that he had a bit of money.

"I'm so sorry!" he cried. "It's my fault… I wasn't looking where I was going. You dropped these pieces of paper. I hope dearly that they're not important. I know I got them all though… but I'm so sorry, here, let me help you up."

He handed over the money then held out his hand. She accepted it, then was pulled to her feet.

"Thanks… and it wasn't your fault, it was mine." She put the bills in her pocket.

"What are those?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Money…"

"Money?" he inquired. He looked extremely puzzled, then his face opened to a look of realization. "Oh! Are you a Muggle?"

"A what?"

"Oh… I mean… are your parents non-magical folk?"

"Oh, yes!" she smiled. "I didn't know there was a word for that. Hey, I'm sorry. I can't stay to chat. I'm supposed to be going right to the bank… I just don't know where it is. See you around."

As she walked off, the boy called out. "Wait! I can take you there!"

"All right," she said, after thinking about it for a second. "I'm Lily, but the way. Lily Evans."

"James Potter," he held out his hand, which Lily shook. In just a few minutes, they were standing outside a grand white building."

"This it?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Come on."

When they were almost to the top of the stairs, Lily stopped. A Dark looking alley had caught her eye. "What's that?"

"Knockturn Alley," he grunted. "You don't want to go down there. Only the darkest wizards do."

"You have bad wizards?" Lily asked, walking through the open doors.

"Yes, but it's no different than evil Muggles."

Lily shrugged, and her eyes wandered over to a rhyme set on the next set of doors.

_**Enter stranger, but take heed**_

_**Of what awaits the sin of greed,**_

_**For those who take, but do not earn,**_

_**Must pay most dearly in their turn.**_

_**So if you seek, beneath our floors**_

_**A treasure that was never yours,**_

_**Thief, you have been warned, beware**_

_**Of finding more than treasure there**_

"That's… threatening." Lily finished lamely.

"It's true." James replied. "You'd have to be crazy to even think of robbing this place. It's run by Goblins-real cunning creatures, they are- and it's rumored that they're dragons kept in certain places of Gringotts. Plus, it's so huge that you'd never be able to find your way out."

"_Dragons_?_ Goblins_?" she asked, bewildered.

Ignoring her question, James had Lily follow to the front desk. "Miss Lily Evans would like to open an account.

"Grimdike!" the ugly goblin shouted. Grimdike came over obediently. He had beady eyes that looked tiny next to his bumpy nose.

"How will you be making your deposit?" he questioned in a raspy voice.

Lily blinked. "Muggle money- three hundred pounds."

He handed her a key, then instructed them to climb into a cart. They did has he ordered, and it took off at piercing speed. Lily felt like her eyelids were going to fall off.

Suddenly, it pulled to a screeching stop.

"Vault three-seven-four. Key," Grimdike requested. Lily handed it to him then quickly pulled back her hand because his fingers felt dry but slimy at the same time. "Stand back."

He opened the door and a glistening pile of gold laid before the three. Lily quickly filled up her pockets.

"I can't believe all of this is mine!" she breathed.

James smiled. "Got enough? All right, good. Do you mind if I go shopping with you? I haven't quite gotten everything yet."

Before she could answer, they were back in the cart and it'd taken off again. When they'd reached the entrance, she responded. "Sure, but only if you explain this money to me."

"Easy," he grinned. "The gold ones are Galleons, the silver are Sickles, and the bronze ones are Knuts. It's seventeen Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, which means that it's four hundred and ninety-three Knuts to a Galleon."

"Okay, well, that was _way_ over my head."

"You'll get it soon enough," he beamed. "Let's get your things now. Madam Malikin's Robes for All Occasions is to our left, right after this shop. Come on, we'll go there first."

"Yeah, clothes are always good!" Lily giggled. "Okay, let's go."


	3. Meeting the Gang

They browsed through many different shops, including places to buy cauldrons ('Cauldrons- All Sizes- Collapsible!'), wands ("Very nice wand, Miss Evans!" Mr. Ollivander said. "Willow, ten and one-fourth inches long… very swishy; nice for charm work."), and, finally, to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor ("It's on me, Lily!").

He bought her a gigantic vanilla ice cream with chocolate and strawberry syrup. Nuts were sprinkled on top for added flavor.

"OY, JAMES!" a voice shouted, and he jumped, then turned around.

A group of three other boys were sitting at a table, out of the sun underneath a white and red striped umbrella with the Parlor's slogan printed across it.

"Mind if we sit with them?" James asked Lily.

She beamed. "Not at all."

They walked over and set their ice creams on the table surface.

"James, where've you been?" one of the boys asked. He looked almost just like James, apart from the glasses. "And _who_ is your _friend_?"

He had a mischievous smile, and as he asked the last question, he winked at Lily. She rolled her eyes, then began to giggle.

A boy with dark blonde hair smirked. "What he _meant_ to say is nice to meet you. Sometimes his manners wander off."

"You're just jealous, Remus, because I have more charm than you."

The guy named Remus scoffed. "Right Sirius… I'm sorry, we haven't properly introduced ourselves. I'm Remus Lupin, the idiot over there is Sirius Black, and the quiet one is Peter Pettigrew."

Lily flashed a smile after taking a bite. "Mmm, delicious. I'm Lily Evans. Are you all in your first year?"

"Yeah, we're all going into Hogwarts together," James nodded.

"Oh, look at the time!" Lily cried, noticing the clock on the highest point of Gringotts, which shadowed over part of Diagon Alley. "My mum is going to be here any minute. I'll see you guys around!"

She got up and began to walk away, when, once again, James rushed to her side. "Why don't you see if you can stay in the pub tomorrow, since day after tomorrow is the day we leave? The rest of the gang will be there."

"All right, I'll ask, but don't count on it," Lily shrugged. "Oh- and by the way- thanks for the ice cream, James. It was great."

He smiled as she walked away.

••••

"Did you get everything that you needed?" Lily's mum asked, after they'd been in the car for a few minutes. She'd been on her cell phone and almost oblivious to the fact that Lily had gotten into the car.

"Yeah, and I met a few kids that'll be going to my school! I'm so excited! I can't wait to show you-" she was cut off as her mum's phone began to ring again. Lily sighed.

"Evans," she introduced herself. "Uh-huh. Yes. Okay. Yes. Bye." She hung up the phone again. "Change of plans, dear. I can't drop you off day after tomorrow because I've got to go to a promotional meeting for the company… and since your dad is out-of-town… I don't know how you're going to get to the station. You could take a taxi."

"I've got an idea. I could stay at the Leaky Cauldron- they have rooms there; it's like a hotel- and go to Hogwarts from there." Lily suggested. "Lots of kids do that."

She looked at Lily out of the corner of her eye. "I'll think about it."

Her phone rang again.

••••

When Lily got home, she put some noodles on to boil. She peeled the skins off of about twenty tomatoes- the easy way. She'd discovered, earlier in the year, that if you put the tomatoes in a pot of boiling water for about one minute, no longer, and then plunge them into a bowl of ice cold water, the skins would fall right off.

She removed the seeds then mixed in the onion, garlic, olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper.

In about an hour, after boiling the sauce in a jar, dinner was ready.

"Come eat!" Lily called through the house.

Petunia and her mum entered the kitchen.

"She probably put snakes eyes in it," Petunia scoffed. "Or some other _witch_ stuff."

"Ew, snake eyes are gross," Lily said, twitching her nose. "I used the newt's tails; they have a much stronger flavor."

Petunia choked on her spaghetti while Lily laughed.

"All right, that's enough, you two." Mrs. Evans said. "Lily, I've thought about you staying in that Leaky place… I suppose it's all right, as long as you _promise_ you'll be in bed on time and you get up early enough to not miss the train."

"I promise!" Lily yelled happily, then jumped up to hug her mum. "I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you!"

She laughed. "You'd better. When you're done with supper you need to got and pack your… trunk, isn't it? …Because we'll be leaving early in the morning."

Lily set down her fork and ran up the stairs. She had barely touched her food.

••••

The weather was better the next day when Lily returned to the now-familiar outskirts of the Leaky Cauldron. She said by to her mum and dragged her trunk inside. It was about eight in the morning and only three or four people lingered around the bar.

"Lily! I didn't expect to see you so soon," the bartender called.

Lily smiled. "Hey Tom. I was wondering- do you have an open room? I'm hoping to stay for the night."

He brought her to a nice room with the sun pouring through windows onto the over-sized bed.

"This is _perfect_," Lily grinned. "Thanks so much. I'll be down for breakfast in a minute."

After unloading her belongings some, she skipped down the stairs quietly, trying not to wake up other guests.

Half way through her massive meal of fruits, pancakes, bacon, eggs, and sausage, James surprised me. "Gosh, can you ever eat!" he laughed as she jumped. "Did you convince your mum?"

"Yeah!" she laughed, smacking his hand as he tried to take a piece of toast off her plate. "My food. Buy your own."

"Fine, I will," he pretended to shove her. "Come on, let's go wake the others."

Lily grinned. "Yeah… and I've got the perfect way to make this _very_ interesting."


	4. The Marauder's Humor

"Good idea, Lily!" James laughed, filling up a bucket with water.

She shrugged. "What can I say? I was meant to be an evil genius."

After pouring a few pounds of ice in, they quietly dragged the bucket up the stairs to room number twelve. Lily opened the door and crept in.

"Don't even think about it," Remus grumbled from underneath the covers.

Lily's eyes opened in surprise. "How'd you know we were there?"

"Go for Sirius instead," he replied, not answering the question.

Lily opened her mouth to ask again, but James nudged her.

"Forget it," he whispered when they reached the hallway and had shut back the door. "We've asked him questions before, and trust me, if you keep asking he'll just get really mad. It's pointless. Come on, Sirius is in room thirteen."

Even though Lily was still curious, they proceeded on.

When they reached the side of his bed, Lily had to hold back a snigger. Sirius had drool seeping down the side of his face and his hair was sticking straight up.

"One… two… three!" James cried, and they tipped it over.

Sirius sat up screaming.

Lily laughed so hard that tears started to pour down the side of her face.

••••

As night came nearer, Lily grew sleepier. She felt like he hadn't closed her eyes for ages.

She'd just put on her pajamas when there was a knock on her door.

"Who is it?" she called, walking across the room.

"James."

She opened the door. "Did you know, at this hour, most people sleep?"

"Ha ha. I was on my way up to my room; I'm number eleven. I was wondering something…" his voice trailed off.

"Spit it out."

"Er… well, yes… you see; would you like to sit on the train with the rest of us tomorrow? It'd be awfully boring without you there."

"Yeah right; with you marauders creeping around, I don't know if exciting will even be able to begin to explain the mischief you guys come up with. Like, did you know? When we were eating our ice cream yesterday Sirius slipped some candies that looked like nuts into yours and your teeth turned blue for about half an hour?"

"That's why Peter was laughing when you left!" James said, a look of realization crossing his face. "Ah, well, I'll get him back-again- for that little stunt… and, marauder? I like the word but I've no idea what it means."

"It's like a prankster… a mischief maker."

"Okay," he smiled. "...now, will you sit with us?"

"All right, but as long as you don't turn _my_ teeth blue. Promise?"

"Promise. Good night."

"Sleep well, James."

"And you."

When he turned the corner, he felt like he was about to pass out. Lily had taken his breath away.

••••

The next morning, James awoke Lily by jumping on her bed.

"James Potter, what are you doing?"

"Well, obviously, I'm having the time of my life. Wake up, though."

"Hello, I'm already awake." Lily rolled her eyes, whilst smiling. "Who'd you think was talking? A zombie?"

"Gosh, I should hope not… but you sure look like one!" He ran as Lily jumped out from underneath the covers, punching him with pillows. As he raced out the door, she closed it.

"Oy, get ready, though! Train leaves in half an hour!"

"Oh my gosh!" she screeched, then threw on her clothes. After hurriedly making her bed then messily re-packing the objects that she'd taken out before, she flung open her door then yelled up the stairs to number eleven: "James, can you help me get my trunk?"

"Yeah. Anyway, I have a soft spot for a damsel in distress." He winked, then picked up her trunk and placed it on his shoulders.

"Oh, yes, because I'm so helpless," she laughed, then did something she never thought that she'd ever do. She pantsed him. Right there, on the stairs. He blushed as his red and white striped boxers appeared.

"Pull them back up," he hissed. "Before anyone comes!"

She sighed and got down on her knees to pull them up and had just gotten them over his hips when Sirius and Remus appeared.

"Um, woah!" Sirius cried, his eyes growing big and his mouth dropping open.

Remus stepped back. "I did not see that one coming."

Lily and James both had faces as red as an apple.

"It's not like that!" James choked, burying his face into the side of Lily's trunk.

"Oh my gosh.." Lily said, standing up. "You guys are _nasty_. It's so not like that! It's not!"

"Right… well, when you two are ready to come down, we'll be by the fireplace," Remus sniggered, pointing downwards as they walked passed.

Lily banged her head against the wall. "Oh… my… gosh. That was so embarrassing."

"Tell me about it," James whispered, face still red. "Come on, let's go down there before they get any more bright ideas."

"Right," Lily replied shortly, following him.

"Okay, do you know what this is, Lily?" Peter asked, holding out a jar of green powder.

"Er… no."

"It's called Floo Power," Sirius said, cutting off Peter before he could continue to explain. "You take a pinch of it, throw it in the fire, then step inside. Then, you say the place of where you'd like to go- in our case, Platform 9 ¾ - and you'll be there. Make sure you get out of the way fast, though. Lots of kids get there that way. Tom will signal when we can go… Come on James, now that you're a man, why don't you go first?"

Lily punched him in the arm. "Shut up."

"Ouch, that almost hurt," he stuck his tongue out at him, which she tried to grab. "Are you after me now, Lily?"

Lily rolled her eyes, then took a little bit of the green dust. "I'll go first."

"Are you sure?" Peter asked, surprised. "It's a frightful feeling, going through that fireplace."

"Just 'cause you're a baby," Sirius chuckled.

Lily threw the powder in. "You're so lame, Sirius."

As she walked into the fire, the now green flames tickled up her legs. It was quite a sensation. "Platform Nine and Three Quarters!"

The flames rose above her head, then she found herself spinning faster and faster… She tucked in her elbows, afraid to hit the gates that were rushing past her narrow space.

As she was sent crashing into a cobblestone floor, she felt as if her knees were about to buckle and make her fall. Fortunately, a man working at the station helped her away from the fireplace and instructed her to the train.

"You might want to hurry, though," he said, his accent rough and full of concern. "Kids are boarding fast and you'll want to get a compartment to yourself."

"Thanks very much," Lily smiled up at him. "See you!"

"Good bye."

With that, she boarded the train, ready to start her adventure to Hogwarts.


	5. The Train Ride

Lily wandered onto the train, then found a compartment near the very back. She decided to go ahead and put on her school robes so she didn't have to worry about it later. She'd just buttoned the top when the door slid open.

Sirius strolled in. "Already changed, eh? I bet James wishes that he could've been in here then."

James walked in behind him, shoving him lightly. "Once again, Sirius, shut up."

When the other two had joined them, Lily had a chance to ask a question that'd been bugging her. "Okay, I've been wondering, and for a while now, how do you four know each other?"

"Well, it's a bit complicated, really," Remus shrugged. "I've known Sirius since I was eight; we grew up on the same side of London and went to school together. The first time that Sirius was supposed to come over, he got the address completely mixed up-Byway street used to be Louisville but the two got switched with Heartwood, or something like that, and then he ended up on the other side of London; also known as James' house. You see, he lives on the better side of the tracks."

James rolled his eyes.

"And Peter?"

"I'm Sirius' cousin, twice removed, then replaced by marriage," Peter said automatically. "Technically, if you go through all of the incest and things like that, we're not really closely related at all."

"Incest?"

"Sirius belongs to a pure-blood family," James explained. "That means that his parents are both magical folk. The families are really rare now, and the only way to keep them pure is to do something like marry your cousin. It's quite barbaric, really."

After a few minutes of mingled talk on the wizarding families, Sirius introduced Lily to a game called exploding snap. Halfway through the third round, James asked Lily what she thought of Quidditch.

"What's that?" Lily asked, assuming it was another weird word with a regular meaning.

"Blimey!" James shouted. "You've never heard of Quidditch? Didn't you see the stores in Diagon Alley?"

"No, not really."

"What?" James exclaimed.

Remus looked up from the book that he was reading in the corner. He'd decided not to play with the rest of them. "Oh, great, you've got him started."

As they (being James, Sirius, and Peter) explained the rules and amazing matches of Quidditch that they'd seen, Lily grew less and less enthusiastic about the subject. She felt as if she was about to go crazy right when a plump woman pushing a food cart appeared.

"Can I get you anything off the trolley, dears?" she asked, looking around at the group.

"Of course!" Sirius yelled. "I love food. Like, I mean, I really, really love it; even more than girls! Okay, maybe not that much, but it's right up there!"

As the older witch smiled, James said, "We'll take the whole cart. On me, please."

Lily gasped. "How are you to pay for it all?"

"That's some benefits of being James' friend," Peter said thickly, as he'd already started on a chocolate frog. "He's filthy rich."

"He's not serious?" Lily questioned James, but very faintly.

James handed her a Sizzling Strawberry. "Not rich… just well off."

That was what Lily liked about James; he was very considerate of others and he didn't try to be better than those below his status. He was, overall, a very nice guy.

Soon, their whole compartment was smothered in candy, wrappers, and everywhere they touched seemed to be sticky. They were laughing for no apparent reason when the compartment door opened.

The groups' faces fell as a tall boy with dark, greasy hair and a large appeared. Next to him was a rather attractive blonde with a slightly evil feel about him.

"James, isn't it _lovely_ to see you again," the blonde smirked. He sounded extremely sarcastic. "Tell me, how is your mother?"

"Looking much better than yours," James insulted. "Get out, Lucius. Nobody wants you here."

"Why, that's know way to treat your friends, Potter," the taller one smirked.

"Shut up, Severus," Sirius snapped.

Lily was extremely and sincerely curious. "Who are you?"

"Ahh…" Lucius said, looking at Lily in interest. "I'm Lucius Malfoy; this is my friend, Severus Snape. I expect you must be new to the wizarding world, though I do hope you're not from that Muggle filth. It was nice to meet you… What was your name?"

"Lillian Evans," she replied, looking into his cold eyes. They were beautiful, but scary.

"I hope I'll be seeing you around," Lucius said, then left.

Lily examined the group. Everyone looked a bit flustered, except for Remus, who was still reading.

"Okay," Lily said, breaking the silence. "Can anyone tell me what that was all about? James, you and Sirius both look positively horrifying, and I've never seen either of you like that before."

"Lucius and Sirius are cousins. They're destined to be put in Slytherin together. Lucius is on Sirius' side of the family where blood matters. It's a lucky thing you didn't agree with him that you were Muggle born; he wouldn't leave you alone for the rest of the year, I bet. And did anyone hear how Lucius was talking to you? It's disgusting. He wants you."

"He's not going to have me," Lily said, but a chill went up her spine as she remembered his eyes. "Anyway, what's a Slytherin?"

As the group explained the four houses and which each one represents, an announcement came over the intercoms.

"We will be entering the train station in five minutes," the cool voice said. "It is advised that you put on your robes immediately."

"I'll leave while you guys change." Lily said.

"No, you don't have to leave," Sirius winked. His bad mood had escaped him.

James rolled his eyes. "Just, like, don't look, okay?"

Lily nodded her head.

After they were clothed (Lily actually didn't peek, though later she wished that she had), the train stopped.

"All first years this way!"

Lily and the other four followed a bright lantern to a gathering of boats.

"Four to a boat, and no more!"

Lily, Remus, James, and Sirius all boarded one, while Peter found another. He didn't really seem to mind. If he had, Lily would've felt guilty; after all, he _was_ their friend first.

Remus and Sirius sat in the front, approaching the castle fist. Lily sat in the back, with James, as the boats took off. As the water caressed the sides on the craft, Hogwarts came closer into view. It was brightened by lights set perfectly around the building, illuminating it like a masterpiece.

"Wow," Lily breathed. "It's absolutely _beautiful_…" She saw James looking at her from the corner of her eye. "What?"

"I… So are you, Lily."

Her breath caught in her chest at he slid his hand along her jaw line. He pulled her lightly towards him, then laid his lips on hers.

Lily closed her eyes and felt a swooping sensation take over her heart.

They only pulled apart when they heard Sirius and Remus sniggering.

Sirius began to make gagging noises. "You guys are making me sick…"

"Yeah, mate," Remus laughed. "That was such a lame pick up, James."

His face went red. Before James could say anything, Lily interrupted.

"I thought it was sweet."

Sirius just shrugged his shoulders. "It's still nasty."

"Come here then, and I'll kiss you," Lily smiled, tugging on his arm. "Then you'll tell me if you think it's gross."

He pulled back, stuttering. "Um, no… I'm fine how I am, thanks."

That made everyone except Sirius break out in giggles. They began to laugh so hard that other kids began to stare. Within a few seconds, Sirius joined in.

As the boats scraped the edge of the shore, James helped Lily out.

"Ready?" he asked.

She took a deep breath. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."


	6. The Sorting

**During the year of 1971 (the current year in the story) Lucius isn't supposed to be at Hogwarts; he should've graduated in 1970, and it's extremely irregular for him to be nice to a first year… Just read it.**

When they walked inside, there was a rather tall, young, but stern-looking lady, who was sent to greet them.

"Hello" she said. "My name is Professor Minerva McGonagall. I am you transfiguration teacher, but I am also here to remind you of the rules. First off, we do not tolerate immature behavior. Second, while getting sorted into your houses, we expect you to be extremely silent. After the sorting you can eat and you may talk.

"There are four possible houses that you may be sorted into: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. While you are here at Hogwarts, I suggest you behave yourself. Your house will be like your family. If you keep your grades up and behave, you will get what we call "house points." Like-wise, if you decide to be irresponsible and childish, you will loose points. The house with the most points at the end of the year will be awarded the house-cup. They're ready for you. Let's go!"

She led them into a huge hall with hundreds of candles floating in mid-air

Lily was astonished.

There were four long tables with beaming plates and huge goblets placed upon them. Seas of students were already sitting down, having whispered conversations as the group of first years poured in. where the rest of the students were sitting. As Lily scanned the large hall, her eyes wandered up to where a man with a long beard that was still slightly blonde was sitting. His table contained many other adults, so she figured that they were the teachers.

Professor McGonagall formed the new students into a line, took them up a few stairs, and stood herself next to a frayed-looking hat. For some reason, Lily got the urge to look up, and when she did, she saw the night itself outside. She figured that there was no ceiling, until a girl next to her said, "the roof is just bewitched to look like the sky outside. By the way, my name's Mary Goldpipe. What's yours?"

"I'm Lily Evans. How did you know that about the roof?" while Lily spoke, she surveyed the girl. She had medium-long gold hair, and she was extremely pretty.

"I've read _Hogwarts; A History_ already. I've found it an interesting read."

The talking between them stopped, and only a few seconds later, Lily saw the hat move that she had seen her Professor stand next to. The brim opened like it was a mouth and it sang:

_Welcome students_  
_To the land of the free  
__Where witchcraft takes over  
__So magically  
__Whilst there are rules to follow  
__There is time to have fun  
__For I am the Sorting Hat  
__And my song had begun  
__I'm sure that you all have heard  
__About the four houses here  
__Each one unique  
__Each one near  
__First there is Gryffindor  
__The mighty and brave  
__They're ready to fight  
__Right down to their grave  
__Next there's Ravenclaw  
__The witty and smart  
__Their friendship is worth earning  
__Right from the start  
__Third is Hufflepuff  
__The sweetest of the four  
__They'll be loyal to you  
__Even if you're kind no more  
__Finally there's Slytherin  
__The most cunning of all  
__They get what they want  
__And their pride won't fall  
__So I hope you like Hogwarts  
__I'll tell you where to go  
__One house belongs to you  
__And only I know_

The hall burst out into applause when the song was finished. The hat bowed to all four tables, and then Professor McGonagall took the parchment that was on the floor next to the stool and called out a name.

"Adams, Tyler!"

A boy with hair so dark that it almost seemed back stumbled forward. McGonagall signaled for him to sit on the stool, which he did, and she placed the hat on his head, which slid several inches over his eyes. After a pause, the hat roared out "RAVENCLAW!"

A table on the left of Lily burst out cheering and clapping.

Soon, It was Sirius' turn.

"Black, Sirius!" the professor shouted.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat roared, almost as soon as the hat touched his head.

Gryffindor's table burst out cheering for the first student that made it to their table. Lucius glared from the Slytherin table. Earlier, on the train, Sirius explained how Lucius had failed his fifth year and that he'd just turned eighteen.

After pushing those thoughts to the back of her head, Lilt heard her name called.

"Evans, Lily."

Lily slowly started walking to the stool, and she felt like she'd never get there. All eyes were on her, and she suddenly wished her hair wasn't so red. She felt stupid, hoping that, but it crossed her mind.

When she finally reached it, she shakily sat down, and soon she saw just plain black.

"Ahh, Miss Evans, do you want to know something?" the hat asked slowly, but only so she could hear.

_Sure._ Lily thought.

"I really don't know what house to put you in. I cannot decide between two houses for you."

_And which houses are they?_

"Slytherin and Gryffindor. You would do well in both. So, it's up to you. Would you rather be Dark, extremely intelligent, and successful, which is Slytherin, or Good, brave, and successful, which is Gryffindor…?"

_I prefer Good, myself, but I figured you would already know that, because I noticed you could hear what I'm thinking. _

"I knew, but I wanted to make sure I was right."

You were. After all, it's our choices that hold our future. 

"GRYFFINDOR! DEFINATLEY A GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted out to the rest of the Hall.

Lily blinked several times, trying to adjust her eyes back to the light.

The Gryffindor table busted out with cheers. Sirius was waving madly at her, yelling "GO LILY!" at the top of his lungs. She ran down to sit next to him. Soon, Remus, James, and Peter accompanied them, and also a boy named Frank Longbottom. Some other girls were in Gryffindor also, including the girl Lily had met earlier; Mary Goldpipe.

The whole hall suddenly grew quiet as Dumbledore, the Headmaster, stood up and said, "Let the feast begin!"

To Lily's amazement, the empty platters in front of her suddenly filled with food, and Lily ate and talked until she could not stand it any more. Soon, Dumbledore stood up again and said, "I know you are all full to an extreme extent and you do not wish to hear an old man mumbling before you go to sleep," (many people laughed) "but I must remind you, the Forbidden Forest is _strictly_ off-limits to all students." He smiled at each table.

"Now, good night to you all! Please, do sleep well. Will the prefects please direct the first-years to their common room? Good night!"

With that, from the head of each table, two people stood up and yelled, "First years, follow me!"

The Gryffindor prefects lead them up many staircases and through many portraits and hallways, until they were outside of a picture of a rather fat lady squeezed tightly into a pink dress.

"Er, the password is '_mot de passé_,'" said the boy prefect. The picture swung open to reveal a brightly lit room that had squishy dark red chairs surrounding an excited fire. The room also contained two spiral staircases. "I hope that you will all remember it. It's very simple, actually; it means 'password' in French." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Girls to the left staircase, Boys on the right!" the girl prefect said.

Lily took a few steps up the left staircase and saw a door that said 'First Year's Dormitories.' Lily stepped inside, found her trunk at the foot of a four-poster bed, then threw herself uponthe matressand quickly fell asleep.


	7. Lessons

The next day, Lily woke up to see that there were four other girls in the other beds. Another girl was sitting up just like Lily. It was Mary Goldpipe.

"Mary!" Lily shrieked, causing two other girls to stir. Lily lowered her voice. "Morning!"

"Yeah, good morning! I was going to talk to you some more last night," Mary whispered. "But when I came in, you were already asleep."

The other three girls were sitting up by now.

"I'm Lily." Lily said, noticing the other girls were awake.

"Ma-ma-Maria," yawned a girl with long, brown hair that reached her lower back. She had beautiful brown eyes that sparkled in the sunlight that was streaming through the window beside her.

"I'm Christy," said a blue-eyed girl with dark-blonde hair. Lily could already tell, even though Christy was sitting down, that she was quite tall.

"And, I'm Lina." Lina was a brown-haired girl with matching dull brown eyes. Lily, for some reason, could tell that she would like Lina. Lina stood up on her bed and yelled, "It's a new day! Get up and shout HORRAY!" And, to everyone's amazement, Lily did. She grabbed her pillow, walked over to Lina's bed, stood up on it too, and hit Lina in the head with her pillow while she was yelling at the top of her lungs.

"HORRAY! HORRAY! IT'S A NEW DAY! HORRAY!"

Lina laughed and grabbed her pillow and started hitting Lily back. Soon, the rest of the dorm was pillow fighting and shouting.

"_What,_ might I ask, is going on?" James asked, who was clearly watching from the doorway. He had a smile played across his lips.

Lily jumped off Mary's bed where she was last jumping, ran up to James, and threw her pillow at him. "Just having fun!" she giggled as he ducked. "Why are you up here anyway?"

"The whole common room heard screaming, so I came to investigate," he said calmly.

"Oh my gosh, they did?" Maria innocently, already knowing how loud they were being.

"Yup," laughed James. "I'd get dressed if I were you. It's the first day of term, and breakfast starts soon."

He walked over to Lily, said "good morning," and laid a kiss on her cheek, then left the room.

As soon as he left, Lily noticed the other girls gaping at her.

"What?" Lily asked, slightly laughing at the look on her room mate's faces.

"How'd you get someone so cute, funny, and _fine,_ to like you?" asked Christy, bewildered.

Lily grinned, and Lina asked, "Are you two a couple?"

"OK, I need you all to swear to secrecy!" Lily squealed. The girls all promised they wouldn't tell anyone, and Lily then said, "We kissed on the boats over here, but I don't think we are a couple yet. He hasn't asked me."

The other girls all started talking at once. "Calm it!" ordered Lily.

"OK, lemme talk." Said Lina. "I'll ask him if he thinks you two are a couple. Maria, if he says no, I want you to bug him about asking her out. Christy, if he says yes, he thinks they are, come back and tell Lily immediately. Who ever doesn't have something to do, you'll be the messenger from Lily to James. Make sure this doesn't get around the school yet. It has to be official first." She walked over to her trunk, kicked it open, and started changing. "OK, everyone?"

"Good plan," they all said together.

As soon as they were all dressed, groomed, and clean, they walked down to the Great Hall together.

"Lily! OY, LILY! Over here!" Remus shouted from the Gryffindor table. Lily led her other friends to where the boys were, and Lina quickly slipped into a seat next to James, and Lily sat on his other side.

James just stared at Lina. "Er, sorry, but, who are you?"

Lina chuckled. "I'm Lina Bennett. I'm a first year in Gryffindor. And, this is Mary, Maria, and Christy." She said, pointing to each person as she spoke. "They are all in Gryffindor too."

"Oh yea! I remember you guys! You were the ones in your P.J.s having a pillow fight in your dorm room!" said James. "Nice to meet you." He added.

They all started stacking their plates with food, and Professor McGonagall started handing out class schedules.

"Oh good! Transfiguration first! Then Herbology, then break!" Maria squealed.

"Oh no!" James groaned. "Then potions. I hate working with them. Everyone tells me it's the worst subject ever."

As everyone immersed into conversation, Lina leaned over and whispered into James' ear. "Do you consider you and Lily a couple?"

"No, not really," James said out loud.

"Just wondering." Lina said, not whispering anymore. "Maria, remember this morning? The conversation we all had?"

Maria nodded.

"The answer works with you. Christy, messenger! Remember what to do?" Lina asked.

"Yea, but make it secret, please." Lily asked.

"OK, what are you guys talking about, and, James, what did Lina ask you?" asked Peter, who was clearly confused.

"Nothing." The girls all said together.

"None of ya business!" Christy grinned.

"Oh no! We're all going to be late for Transfiguration if we don't hurry and leave!" Remus half-screamed. They all grabbed their bags and rushed to their first class. Luckily, they still had three minutes before class started. They all sat near each other, but James was stuck between two girls: Lily and Maria.

Professor McGonagall walked in shortly after, and said, "Welcome, class, to Transfiguration. This term, you will be learning how to transfigure small things." She droned on about what they would be changing, also making them take notes on it as she spoke. Maria wrote something on her parchment and handed it to James. He read it, blushed, and Lily read that he had wrote "Maybe." He passed it back before Lily could read the rest.

Professor McGonagall changed her solid-wood desk into a mouse, then back into the desk again. Everyone applauded her, and Lily heard Maria say, "Do it! Do it!" to James.

James just blushed a deeper color, and whispered the same thing he had written: "Maybe."

Soon, the bell rang that told them to go their next class. In their case, it was Herbology.

"Oh no!" Remus said. "We have Herbology with the Slytherins!"

"The hat considered putting me in Slytherin." Said Lily. As soon as she said it, she knew she shouldn't have.

"IT DID WHAT?" James yelled, suddenly stopping in his tracks.

"Oh my- why didn't you tell us?" asked Christy.

"I just did!" said Lily.

"Oh yeah. I knew that." Christy acted like such a dumb blonde sometimes.

"It's okay," said Lina, who was walking again. "It did the same with me. It said: '_you have the makings to become the most powerful sorceress in the world. Wouldn't you like that?'_ And he got sort of mad because I told him I'd rather be good."

"The sorting hat didn't get mad, but he said something similar." Lily replied.

They had reached Greenhouse One by now, and their Herbology teacher, Professor Sprout, told them to line up beside a long, deep, dish-looking thing that's had a lot of dirt in it.

"Today," said the Professor. "We shall be potting Flobberworms. They would normally fall underneath the category of "Care of Magical Creatures", but, Headmaster Dumbledore wishes for me to teach them here. You shall constantly be feeding you plant, but, do _not_ over feed it."

The Professor drawled on in her sweet but annoying voice, and Lily, once again, heard Maria whispering "Do it. Do it!" to James.

"Shut up!" James said, who was clearly annoyed with Maria.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Mr…?" asked the Professor.

"Potter," James finished, glaring at Maria. "There isn't anything, Professor."

"Well, it's not _my_ fault you chose to respond!" Maria whispered.

After Herbology, Maria could tell James wasn't in the mood to be bugged again, so she left him alone.

"James, I'm sorry for getting you in trouble," said Maria apologetically.

"It's… it's okay. At least we didn't get any house points taken away. By the way; it doesn't bug me. I'm going to be getting in a _lot_ more trouble this year, you wait!" said James.

Lily was walking ahead of them, and James ran up to her.

"Lily, can you meet me in the common room at midnight tonight?" James asked her. Then, looking at the expression on her face he added, "Please?"

"Well, all right." Lily said, but a little doubtfully.

He smiled, grasping her hand for a quick second. "Good. See you there."

He left, and his gang followed closely behind.


	8. Making New Friends

That night, Lily told the girls that she was going to bed early. All of the girls in Lily's dorm knew that Lily was meeting James in the common room, as did all of the boys. However, to advert suspicion, they had to make it look natural. James pretended to get into a huge fight with Peter, and the he stormed up the stairs. He was quite convincing.

Lily set her witch-alarm to eleven fifty-five, then waited patiently for the rest of the girls to come up. No one was planing on sleeping until Lily came back from her midnight stroll in front of the fireplace, but the clock was set so that they wouldn't loose track of time.

As Lina closed the door behind the other three girls who entered before her, a mischievous grin played across her face. "Makeover time!"

Lily hesitantly pulled back. "Wouldn't it look like I was trying to hard if I went down there and my hair is curled and my face is smothered in make up?"

"She is right," Mary said to the group. She turned to face Lily. "But can't we put on just a _little_ bit?"

"Just nothing too fancy," Lily groaned.

Soon, in what felt like no time, the alarm went off. The other girls were planning on going to bed, but Lily promised to tell them everything in the morning. Lily looked in the mirror. Even she had to admit it to her self- _she looked gorgeous._ Her outfit wasn't too special; Hogwarts' robes with a pair of jeans and a simple black tank top. Lily smiled, then quietly slipped down into the common room where she saw James.

He smiled at her. Lily was surprised; he looked like he had made an effort to comb his hair. "Lily… wow."

Lily just grinned.

"Well, hey…" he said. "Come sit next to me on the sofa. I need to talk to you."

"Well, I figured that's why you wanted me here so late."

He chuckled as they sat down. Suddenly, his face turned a pale white, and he began to stutter. "Well, you see… I… I have something to tell you."

Lily did not like the way the conversation was going.

James bit his lips. "I have a girlfriend."

"YOU _WHAT_?" Lily jumped up.

"I have a girlfriend! Lily, listen to me! I am _really_ sorry. I really like you… I do! You are the sweetest girl ever! When I kissed you that night, I couldn't help it!"

Lily had tears flowing out of her eyes. "I can't believe you! I HATE YOU, JAMES POTTER!" With that said, she ran back to her dorm and flung herself on her bed. Her friends obviously weren't asleep yet, because the all ran over to her.

"Lily… Lily! What _happened?" _asked Lina,who had reached her first.

"Lily, tell us!" said Maria.

"Yea, go on Lily! We're here for you!" whispered Mary.

"He-he has- he has a girlfriend already," sobbed Lily.

The others gasped.

"How could he? HOW COULD HE?" asked Lina. "Hold on, I'm going to be right back."

"Where's she going?" asked Maria.

"What's she doing?" Lily and Mary asked together.

They all crept to the bottom stair where they were still hidden from view. Screams echoed up through the rooms.

"You awful boy! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT? She really liked you! You jerk! Not only does she hate you, but I hate you! You are pure evil! How could you take a girl's heart and twist it to your liking like that?"

"Lina, listen, I _had_ to! I have a girlfriend!"

"Oh, you have a girlfriend, so you sit there and make out with other girls when she isn't around? Is that it James?"

"N- no, it's not! Lily is wonderful! I didn't mean to kiss her when I did! I was just drawn to her!"

"Oh, so you just sit there and play with her heart to make up for your guilty feelings? And, if you do have a girlfriend already, then what was with the kissing her on the cheek thing this morning?"

"I… Lina, what is this all about?" James asked angrily, avoiding the question.

Then at the top of her lungs, so the whole Gryffindor house could hear, Lina yelled, "JAMES IS A DOWN RIGHT PLAYER! IF YOU'RE HIS GIRL FRIEND, GETS THIS: HE'S KISSED ANOTHER GIRL TODAY AND YESTERDAY! JAMES POTTER IS A TOTAL JERK! HE IS DOWN HERE IN THE COMMON ROOM! HE PLAYS WITH GIRLS HEARTS! JAMES POTTER –IS- A- TOTAL- PLAYER- A JERK- A LOSER- JAMES POTTER IS A TOTAL IDIOT! HE TAKES GIRLSHEARTS AND RIPS THEM INTO PIECES- HE-" whatever else James was, they never really found out, because James had come to his senses and clapped his hand over her mouth. She licked his hand, and when he didn't remove it, she bit his fingers. He yelped and let go.

Some people had come down stairs, not too happy about being awoken during their first night at Hogwarts, but still curious to see who had been screaming. Lina turned around to face him. She glared then spat right into his eyes.

Lina rushed past the girls to their dormitories, and they quickly followed. As soon as the door was shut, Lily jumped on Lina.

"Oh my gosh, Lina, that was so amazing! I love you so much!"

They talked about, laughed at, and made fun of James before they fell asleep.

••••

The next morning, when they entered the Great Hall, every table applauded Lina, including the Slytherins. Obviously, the story had traveled far during the night.

"Oy, Lily!" Sirius called. "Over here!"

She was about to sit next to him when she saw James close by.

"Hold on a second," Lily whispered to the group behind her. "I've got something to do."

There were no teachers in the hall, so Lily took her chance. She walked over to James and smiled. "Hey, James about last night. I wanted to give you something because I feel really bad…" She leaned closer to him, to where their faces were merely inches apart, then raised her hand and smacked him across the face.

The Slytherin table howled with laughter.

"You really deserved that," Mira scowled, following Lily to the other end of the table.

"Yea, you really did." Mary said, as she too, followed.

"Oh, don't even get me started, boy." Lina said with a smirk. The Hufflepuff table busted out cheering one last time. By the time the laughter sub-sided from all four tables, Lily had already piled her plate with food, and she was deep in conversation with Mary.

That morning, they had potions.

As soon as they walked in, Slytherin applauded Lily and Lina again, and a few Gryffindors joined in. Lily noticed there were only a few open seats. Unfortunately, they _weren't_ good choices. Her options were either next to James, or between Malfoy and Snape. Lily told her friends to go give James a good kick in the butt, and she would sit with Malfoy and Snape. The girls were shocked.

"Er, excuse me, can I sit here?" Lily asked.

"Hey, you made fun of James in public, of course you can!" Malfoy said. Lily smiled and took the seat next to him, earning her another look from not only James, but also Sirius, Peter, and Remus. Immediately, Lily knew why she got the looks; Malfoy and Snape were their biggest enemies.

Lily shrugged to Sirius, and she started talking to Malfoy.

"So why are you in here?" she asked, trying not to sound rude. "I thought you were in your seventh year."

"I am," Lucius said between gritted teeth. "But I never learned how to make the Total Conformity Potion, and I need to know it to graduate; to make that, you have to know the basics, and since I've already taken seventh year potions last year, I'm taking first years this year. It's actually rather embarrassing, but easy."

By the end of the class, the two boys had helped Lily get an 'E' in the class, and Lily had gotten two new really good friends.

When Lily exited to go to enjoy her thirty-minute break, she had made plans to sit with the two boys at lunch on the Slytherin table. She had not taken one step when James approached her and said, "What was that all about?"

"What was what all about?" Lily asked, truthfully confused.

"I thought you hated the Slytherins as much as I did!"

She glared at him. "Don't you ever compare me and you in the same sentence again. How dare you even talk to me!"

"But Lily, I my thought we were at least friends!"

Lily scoffed. "Me, _your_ friend, after what you did to me? Forget it!"

"Well, if you're not my friend, I at least thought you were Sirius, Peter's and Remus' friend!"

"I am!" Lily shrieked. "But me being friend with them doesn't mean I can't be friends with other people that they have problems with!"

"Is there a problem Lily?" asked Malfoy, who had just walked by her side.

"Yea, this great blunder head thinks I'm his friend!"

"Do you want us to do anything to help you?" Snape asked, approaching her other side.

"No, it's okay, lets just go to break. Meet me in the library?" Lily asked.

"Of course," said Malfoy.

With that, Lily walked away, her nose in the air, not bothering to turn around and give James a final glance.


	9. Late Night Adventures

"How could she do this to us?" James asked, throwing himself into a chair. They were in the Common Room and discussing Lily.

"Well, it is kind of _your_ fault she doesn't like us," Remus whispered.

"I can't believe you just said that! It is _not_ my fault!" James half-shouted. He glared into the fire, then said softly, "okay, so maybe it is my fault… but I still can't believe she turned on all of us like that!"

"I did _not_ turn on _all_ of you!" Lily said, making the others jump. She had obviously heard talking, because it was 12:32 A.M. "Just James! Sirius, Remus, Peter, I still like you guys! I have absolutely nothing against you. Also, if you must know, Snape and Malfoy are both really sweet! I do _not_ care if they are your worst enemies! I don't care if they're the whole world's worst enemies! They are still _my_ friends, whether you like it or not… Sirius, don't you _dare_ give me that look! I can be both of your friends, so cool it! And, good night!" She stormed up to her dormitory.

Over the next week, Lily hung out with the Slytherins. It really began to bug James, which was exactly what Lily had intended to do. Only in classes, except for Potions, was she not with them.

She'd made quite a few new friends in every house, but she found that she had the most in Slytherin. A few were still hateful and mistrusting, but over all, the first years really liked her.

Finally, Lily found herself in Herbology. She loved the class because not only did she have an amazing green thumb, but she also adored talking to her Hufflepuff friends.

Lily sat by a try that was packed with dirt, and Mary, Miles, and Gene soon joined her. Miles and Gene were both in Hufflepuff and were twins… Surprisingly, instead of hating each other, they shared everything and were best friends.

Professor Sprout entered the greenhouse and automatically began to speak. She liked to get down to business. "Welcome class. Today we shall be re-potting Mandrakes. Could anyone please describe what a Mandrake is to me?"

Lily's hand suddenly shot in the air.

"Miss Evans. Go ahead." Professor Sprout said.

"Mandrake- or more commonly know as Mandragora, is a key ingredient in the potion _Mandrake Drought_ and, when mixed correctly, it can reserve a petrified being to their original state. Also, the cry of a Mandrake can kill."

"Correct! I could not have put it better myself! Fifteen points to Gryffindor!"

Everyone appeared shocked.

"Hey, smart one, how'd you know all that stuff?" Mary asked.

Lily smiled. "Lucius taught me the importance about caring for your grades… We've both been studying a lot and he's helped me out with the main things that the first years cover. Oh, hey, did you know that staring in a few years, they're not going to let first years practice this? The Wizard's Board of Education says it's too dangerous."

"Really?"

"Now- when pulling your Mandrake out of the ground, make sure you grasp their leaves tightly." Professor Sprout continued. "If you grasp to loosely, they can slip out of your grip, and, if you grasp to tightly, you can easily crush the leaves. Now, just as Miss Evans said, the cry of a Mandrake can kill you. As our Mandrakes are only babies, their cry will not successfully kill, but it can knock you out for several hours. So, we have earmuffs for you. Will everyone please come and get a pair? Good, now, when I tell you so, put your earmuffs on. When class is over, I will shoot red sparks into the air so you will know. Okay, earmuffs on!"

Pulling out and re-potting the Mandrakes was no easy task. It seemed that they didn't really like coming out of the earth, and they obviously didn't like going back in, either. When class was over and the red sparks were in the air, the Gryffindors made their way back to the common room to get changed and cleaned up. Next, they had Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Okay, class," said their new teacher, Professor Swimmer. His classes were practically a joke. He was _not _a good teacher, and he was scared of almost everything, so he didn't really have much control. "Today we shall be practicing _Lumos_ spell."

Everyone groaned. They all mastered the spell on their first day.

The Professor went to sit down behind his desk after pairing them up in partners, and, as soon as he did, ropes clamped tightly over him. On his forehead, a sticky note was stuck and it read:

_I'm a little teapot,_

_Short and stout._

_Here is my handle; here is my spout._

_When I get a steam up, I will shout: _

_TIP ME OVER AND POUR ME OUT!_

The class burst out laughing. Lily saw James give Sirius a high five. She silently said a spell, and the ropes and note disappeared. James shot her a look.

The rest of the day went by quickly, and Lily soon saw herself in to bed early. She was asleep before any of the other girls were even up the stairs.

"Lily-Lily, wake up!" Lily heard someone whisper. She sat up, but all of her other friends were asleep.

"Wha-what?" she asked.

"Lily, over here!" the invisible voice said from her right. Then, someone grabbed her arm. She had to stifle a scream. There was no one there.

"Lily, I'm wearing an invisibility cloak. I can't take it off now or I know you won't come with me! I'll lead you there by pulling on your arm."

"Okay, but, when we get there, you _have_ to take it off."

"Deal." The boy's voice said.

He pulled her out of her dorm and into the common room.

"This is the house-elf's door. We'll go through there."

"Okay." Lily again said, having no idea where the door was. She didn't see one.

The boy led her to a bare patch of wall, and, suddenly, part of it swung out. It was a door, leading to a corridor. She craned her neck around to the front of the door and saw a brick that was slightly pushed in that was made for a handle.

He pulled her through the door. It shut its self, and she hardly heard it close because her leader was pulling her down another hallway already. In about five seconds, he had whipped her through a door on the right. Then, he stopped.

The door closed.

"Sit down." He whispered. Then Lily took her time to really look at the room. There were four big squishy armchairs, a Slytherin rug, posters of famous Quidditch players on the walls, a fireplace, and a bunch of tables. She went and sat in a chair, and looked around the room and then said, "OK, now, take off the cloak."

And so he did. It was James.

"How _dare_ you bring me here!" Lily half-shouted.

"Shhhhhh…OK, will you _please_ listen to me? Please?" he asked.

Lily glared. "I'm not in a good mood with you right now."

"I know." He said. "I brought you here…because… I want to apologize. Will you please listen to what I have to say! I don't have a girlfriend."

"WHAT?" Lily yelled.

"I haven't really had a girlfriend all year. I… I had to tell you that I did."

"Why? Why did you have to lie to me and hurt me like that?"

"Its just-Okay, you've got to listen to me. Sirius, he likes you too, well, at least, I think he does, and, anyway, he got all mad and said if I didn't… er… break up with you, he'd never talk to me again. He thought I have changed since I met you, and he didn't like that."

"Oh, so you do what ever Sirius wants! But, of course, I'm not as important as he is. Like he wouldn't get over it! You know what, I'm not sorry at all what my other friends and me did to you! I still believe you deserved it!"

James's mouth dropped open in shock. "What... you do? Why? How?"

"Do you really want to know why? Because if you really liked me, you'd be mad at your friend for black mailing you like that and we'd probably be a couple by now, but James Potter, I would _never_ date you now! So if you're getting any ides about me and you together, FORGET IT!"

She stood up and left the room. She was sure she could find her way back, and she did. She dropped onto her bed, and the last thing she thought was:

_I'll get myself gorgeous just to make him jealous so he can see what he is missing… again. _


	10. Breakfast

The next morning Lily woke up in shock.

_Oh no! How could I forget? Tomorrow is the first Hogsmeade visit and I haven't gotten my slip signed yet!_

She hurriedly got dressed, and she then remembered the promise she'd made herself last night.

She pulled out her make-up kit, curlers, and hair spray and went to work. Her mom had always said that any girl could look beautiful with curls in her hair. When she'd finished, she even felt gorgeous. Her face was flawless. She put her clothes on more neatly, and went rushing down the hallway. She stopped when she almost ran into Professor McGonagall.

"Miss Evans, why are you up this early?"

"Early? Professor, what time is it?"

"Dear, it is 6:45 a.m."

"Oh wow! Excuse, me, Professor?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think that Professor Dumbledore might be up and if he is can you lead me to him because I really, really need to talk to him."

"Why, yes, Miss Evans, he is awake. If you'd like to talk to him he is in the Great Hall eating."

"Oh, thank you so much, Professor McGonagall! You don't know what this means to me!" and with that said, she ran to the Hall.

She skidded to a halt out side of the door, and decided to catch her breath before she walked in.

When she finally entered, she noticed that Professor Dumbledore was the only one in the Great Hall.

"Er, excuse me, Professor?" Lily asked.

"Come up here, Miss Evans." he said, talking softly, but his calm voice filled the whole hall loudly. "Please, take a seat next to me."

Lily did so, and she hurriedly began to speak.

"Well, you see Professor." she began. "The first Hogsmeade visit is tomorrow and I kind of forgot about it. I've been busy studying for exams and classes."

"But, Miss Lily, I do believe the end-of-year exams are not until the end of the year." He smiled at her, and took a sip out of his goblet.

"Well, yes, I know they are, it's just, I like to know my stuff, you see? But, anyway, I didn't get my slip signed yet and I was wondering if you had, like, a really fast way for me to send it to my parents and back. Back before tomorrow, I mean."

"Of course, of course. You can borrow my Phoenix, Fawkes. He is quite young still, but very useful." He called to Fawkes and a medium-sized bird with a mix of red and gold feathers swooped into the hall.

"Oh, wow Professor, he's so handsome. Thank you!"

"You are quite welcome. Now, I do wish you'd accompany me to breakfast. Are you hungry?"

"I'm absolutely starving. I suppose you'd like me to go to my table now?" Lily asked, having a slight feeling that she might be bothering the professor.

"All alone? How'd you like to sit next to me?" he asked politely. "That way, you can easily make your friends jealous when they enter the Hall, and everyone can see the effort you made to make yourself look good to make James Potter mad." He grinned.

"Woah. What?" Lily asked, bewildered.

"It isn't too hard for an old man like me to see." he replied calmly. "But, please, feel lucky that I do not like to remove house points. I like to leave that to the prefects. It is always extremely unfortunate to have to punish a student during their late night adventures…" He gave her a wink, and then continued: "Here, take Professor Snape's chair."

"Oh! Thank you so much Professor!" Lily squealed. "You _are_ the best!"

Right after she had sat down, James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus entered the Hall. Sirius looked up and saw Lily, and nudged James hard in the ribs to show him where she was. Lily was watching all of this out of the corner of her eyes, and she was having a very merry discussion with Dumbledore.

She saw James's mouth drop open in shock.

James couldn't believe it. "She looks gorgeous…"

"Close your mouth James, before you start drooling all over yourself," Remus joked, elbowing him in the ribs.

When the rest of the Hall filled in, Lily couldn't help but smile at all of the people staring at her. They weren't mean looks, but Lily could tell she'd be getting a lot of attention for the next few days.

After breakfast, Lily thanked the Headmaster so many times that she lost track. She left the Hall, with the agreement that the Headmaster and she had made:

_If people ask you why you sat by me today, simply say: The Professor and I had a very important matter to discuss. _

_Then, when they ask you what it is, tell them it is none of their business._

And he had also told Lily something else:

_"Lily, remember to always shine. You will be special! Stand out! No matter how hard it is, even if the whole school turns against you, remember to shine!"_

Lily was taken aback when he'd said this, but she still promised she would shine. Whatever he meant by that... He also told her that at dinner he'd like her to sit next to him again because he really did have something to talk about with her, and she hurriedly agreed.

The whole day, Lily was being questioned on the breakfast incident, and constantly complimented on her looks. Even Sirius had mentioned that he was impressed, but he seemed rather shy about it.

The one person Lily really seemed to notice was the Ravenclaw boy, Tyler Adams. He was in his first year too, and he was awfully cute. They had Charms together, and today he was her partner. He had bashfully came up to her and said "Lily, will you be my partner? Please?"

"I'd love to! " Lily answered happily. "Let's go get a table!"  
And they hurried over to the table that was closest to them, and Lily saw James glancing at her from the corner of his eye. She decided not to notice.

Near then end of the class, Mary sent her a note.

_Could you two be any cuter together? I see a romance in your future._

_--Mary_

_He's really sweet, Mary! I really like this guy. Do you think I have a chance?_

_--Lily_

_More than a chance… It's like destined! I should be a fortuneteller._

_-- Mary_

Lily grinned and rolled her eyes.

The bell dismissing them to their next class (which would be Transfiguration, once again, with the Ravenclaws) was about to ring.

"Er, Lily?" Tyler asked, who sounded highly uncomfortable.

"Yes?" Lily questioned back, cleaning up her belongings.

"Lily… will…well, Lily, will you be my girlfriend? Will you go out with me?" he asked, looking absolutely terrified of rejection.

"I'd, I'd love to be! Oh, thank you so much for asking!"

As the bell rang, Lily stood up from her chair. James left before Lily, therefore, he would enter the next room first. Lily slipped her hand into Tyler's, and entered the Transfiguration classroom, preparing herself for James' reaction.


	11. Not All Teachers Are Good

Upon entering the classroom while holding Tyler's hand, Lily smiled as whispers immediately broke out.

Remus looked at his friends in disbelief. "What's she playing at?"

"I don't know," James whispered angrily, his eyes following Lily as she walked by. "Whatever it is, I don't like it one bit."

"Me neither," Sirius growled, pretending to flip through the pages in his schoolbook.

Throughout the lesson, Lily noticed that James kept glancing at her and Sirius tried to catch her eye multiple times.

"Hey, Tyler?" Lily asked in a lowed voice as she was working on her class work.

"Yeah?"

"I've got flying lessons with the Slytherins next, and hen lunch… Can I sit at your table?"

"Of course!" he exclaimed a little bit too loudly, and Professor McGonagall sent him a sharp look. "Meet you outside the Great Hall at twelve o'clock sharp, then?"

"Sure."

"Can you join me for dinner, too?"

"Actually…" Lily said, faltering. "I can't. I promised Professor Dumbledore I'd sit with him… I don't know why he wants me there this time, though."

As the bell rang, Lily copied down her homework (_Define what a Switching Spell is in no less than three sentences_) then said bye to Tyler.

She rushed onto the grounds, excited for their first Flying Lesson. They were supposed to have three others previously, but the teacher kept getting sick.

_Stupid teacher_, Lily thought, then hurriedly took it back. She couldn't even believe she'd thought something like that. As she reached the Flying Pitch, she saw a man with greasy black hair sitting on a floating broom.

"Hello class," he drawled, his full, dark eyes taking them in with disgust. "I am Professor Snape… Yes, I am Severus' father…"

A few kids turned and sniggered at the younger Snape, who was looking at the ground, avoiding his father's eyes.

"I am only here for this year as a favor," he continued. "Some parents believed that their children were not associating themselves with the… _right_… sort of people."

Lily looked at him quizzically, not understanding what he meant.

As she walked over to her assigned broom, she heard a few kids whispering.

"What does he mean by the 'right' people?"

"Dark Wizards," a boy said with an air of certainty. "I'll bet you anything it was Malfoy's dad… Everyone knows he's on the Dark side."

Lily shook her head and decided to instead concentrate on the lesson.

"All right, class, now… I want you to take the hand you write with and put it over your broom. Good. Now, say 'up!'"

Lily did as told, and was surprised to find her broom shooting upwards and smacking her in the hand. "Ouch!" she hissed.

"At least you can get it up," Professor Snape said, glaring at Serverus, who was standing next to her. "How do you feel about that, eh? You've got a girl, and not just any girl… a _Gryffindor_ girl doing better than you. I'm disgusted!" he spat, and rose his hand. He sent it crashing into Severus' face, leaving it red and swollen. "I expect better from you next time."

Lily stared at the ground, trying to avoid Severus' eyes.

"You might as well say something," he whispered, his eyes watering. "Everyone else is. I can hear them talking."

Lily bit her lip. "You okay?"

"Okay as I'll ever be… I mean, yeah… my dad just smacked me in the face in front of my friends, but no problem, right?" his voice was cracking.

Lily put her hand on his shoulder. "It's all right… I mean, it's not… but it will be."

He shook his head and climbed onto his broom. "Come on, let's do as he says before he gets more angry."

As they kicked off the ground, Lily noticed that James seemed a natural flyer. That was all erased from her mind, though, as a swooping feeling took over her heart, and she couldn't help but to gasp. She immediately fell in love with flying.

In what felt like no time, class was dismissed for lunch.

Lily straggled behind to talk with Severus, who was constantly being gaped at and mocked by his fellow students.

"Severus, come here," Professor Snape called from the shed where they held the brooms. "I need to speak with you. Go on, Miss Evans. I believe you've helped my son enough today."

Lily headed in the direction of the school, and as soon as a few trees hid her, she flew back to the shed, hiding in the woods, to make sure everything was all right.

"I'm really sorry about today, son…" Lily overheard the professor saying. "I should've controlled my temper."

As Lily peeked around the corner, she saw her friend staring at the ground.

"It's okay, father," he mumbled.

"But what about your friend, Evans? Why are you associating yourself with a Gryffindor? Those little snots are revolting with their do-good behavior and Muggle parents. Any pureblooded wizard who even considers entering Gryffindor is more that a moron; they deserve to die because they're so stupid. What's your little friend? I bet she's got Muggle blood in her, I could feel it… Did you see the way she-"

"Shut up dad! She's my friend."

"How dare you speak to me that way!" he roared. "You little ungrateful _brat_!" He raised his hands and began to punch his son, screaming profanities at him, beating in the side of his face and tearing at his legs.

"Stop!" Lily cried, unable to listen any more. "Leave him alone!"

"Get out of here Lily!" Severus gasped from the ground. "I'm okay… honest…"

The Professor turned to Lily, glaring. "You little…!" He grabbed her by the cloak collar and slammed her against the shed. "If you tell anyone what you saw here… Consider your life over."

He threw he to the ground next to Severus, and walked off, adjusting his cloak as he strolled.


	12. The Tutor

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it and I love listening to what you have to say! Oh, and by the way, thanks for reading my story over the phone to your friend! (LOL) I really mean it when I say thanks!**

Severus scrambled over to Lily as quickly as he could after his father had left. He made slight grunting noises as he neared her, even though she was just a few feet away.

"Lily," he moaned. "Lily, are you okay? Tell me you're okay."

Tears sparked at the corners of her eyes. "I'm all right."

"Then why are you crying? Oh, God, Lily…"

"Do you go through that everyday?" she questioned, not even bothering to sound casual.

He leaned up on his elbow, then spoke softly. "Most days, yeah. Especially when he sits down with a bottle of sherry. Sometimes he's okay though, really."

Lily got to her feet, her knees shaking. "Was he really sick those last few times that he was supposed to be teaching?"

"I don't know," Severus said, following suit with Lily's help. They began to walk stiffly back to the castle. "I try my best to avoid him."

"Oh, that's awful!" Lily cried. "You should really tell someone, you know."

He looked at her like she was crazy. "I couldn't, Lily! I mean, people have to suspect something after today at lessons, but imagine how it would be if we went all the way to the court and he was sentence 'not guilty'? I'd be done for, then."

Lily opened her mouth to speak again, but Severus cu her off. "Listen, okay? Don't think I haven't considered it… I want him to stop just as bad as you do… Most likely more… but I need you to keep quiet about it, okay?"

Lily looked down.

"I'm really sorry he even laid a finger on you," he said.

Lily knew he was sincere. Trying to change the subject a bit, she asked, "Do you think anyone has noticed we're a tad bit late?"

"I hope not," he said, then added as an afterthought, "I think we should go in at separate times, so no one will suspect anything. I mean, as long as you promise not to tell."

She bit her lip. "Yeah, all right, I promise… But I don't know how long I can keep it. Here, let me clean us up. _Scourgify!_"

Lily entered first, then approached the teacher's table, still dusting a little bit of dirt off of the hem of her robes. After trying to avoid some people's eyes, she took her seat.

"You're a bit late, Miss Evans."

"Sorry," she whispered, casting a regretful look across her face. "I got held up at the Flying Pitch."

"Yes, yes," he nodded his head after taking a sip from his goblet. "I heard that you were a most excellent flyer."

"You did?" Lily asked hopefully.

"I did," he assured her. "But, now is not the time for such things as flying. Help yourself to some of this delicious food and listen closely as I talk to you about something."

Lily did as he said, absent-mindedly placing some chicken on her plate.

"First, let us start off with some excellent news. Fawkes has returned, and you are allowed to travel to Hogsmeade."

"That's great!" Lily replied, trying not to choke on her dinner. "Thank you so much, Professor Dumbledore!"

"It is nothing," he beamed. "But, alas, now is the time for me to ask you for something. It's the reason I was so keen to have you sit with me today. You do not have to answer me immediately… in fact, you can have several days to think if over, if you wish."

Lily was hanging onto his every word.

"I have been speaking to your teachers, who have assured me that you are doing a fine job in class, and therefore, I would like to inquire of you that you become a tutor."

Shock passed over Lily's face, then denial raced through her mind. "But, Headmaster, surely there must be a mistake… I'm only in my first year!"

He grinned, obviously amused. "There is no mistake. Now, Miss Evans, if you will kindly take your seat…"

She sat back down, embarrassed, not even realizing that she'd stood in the first place.

"If you are interested…" ("I am!" Lily assured him). "Then there will be a quiz you must take. If you pass, you will begin to help out your fellow first years in your spare leisure time, and, if you succeed and are willing to accept the challenge, then I will also allow you to consider helping the second years. If you excel during this quiz, then I shall announce it to the Hall. Are you ready?"

"Am I ever!" Lily beamed.

"Lovely," he replied, and the examination began. He shot her easy and alarmingly hard questions, but she answered them all off of the top of her head with an easy air of natural assurance.

At the end of the interrogation (and dinner), Dumbledore stood up. "Good evening, students. As you know, Halloween is approaching, which means that added pressure has been placed on you to get more involved with your studies. Therefore, I have come up with a solution. Miss Evans, will you please stand up?"

Lily felt the color rise to her cheeks.

"Miss Evans here has accepted the post of tutoring first year students who are struggling, and, and a few short weeks, if she accepts, she will begin helping out second years, also! All right, the old man has spoken. You are dismissed. Wait, as an after thought, why not give a round of applause to Miss Evans?"

The school began to clap for her, and Lily say Tyler cheering, Malfoy and Snape standing on their tables, whooping, and four Gryffindor boys whistling for her.

Those marauders, Lily smiled after she had managed to struggle up to her dormitory through the crowd of gaping Gryffindors.

As she put in her curlers, she began to think of how James had called her name, and how he looked so proud of her…


	13. Mixed Emotions

The next morning, Lily woke up to screaming. It was a routine happening in the First Year's dorm, so Lily sat up groggily, not concerned. "Whaddist?"

"Today is the first Hogsmeade trip, remember?" Lina asked happily.

Lily threw aside her covers. "Oh my gosh! It is! What time is it? Where are my curlers?"

"Woah, slow down speedy…" Mary laughed, shaking her gold hair about. "It's only eleven o'clock. What's with the hurry?"

"I just want to look good."

"Oh, for Tyler?" Christy asked, grinning. "You two are so cute together!"

"Well, kind of for Tyler."

"Kind of?"

"And kind of for James, I bet," Lina giggled.

All eyes were on Lily. "Okay, a bit. I mean, yeah he was a jerk, and then he said he didn't really have a girlfriend… But I just want to show him what he's missing out on, you know?"

"We understand perfectly," Maria yawned from underneath her pillow. She came out into the sunlight and blinked a few times, trying to adjust her eyes to the brightness.

"Here, I'll help with your hair," Lina smiled, picking up a brush. "It always looks so gorgeous when curled."

"And, hey," Christy spoke up. "I've got a really cute skirt that'd go great with that white tank top of yours! I'll let you borrow it if I can borrow some of your jewelry."

"Yeah, and all of that will be super cute with your black robes, Lily."

"Aww…" Lily moaned, putting on a goofy smile. "You guys are so sweet!"

Mary laughed. "Don't get too gushy on us now. I can't wait to see James' expression."

When she was done, she met Tyler outside the Great Hall.

"Wow," he breathed, smiling at her appearance. "You look so pretty."

Lily grinned. "Thanks. Do you want to sit with us at our table?"

"Sure."

"Okay, you girls go ahead," Lily instructed. "I need to have a word with Lina."

They shrugged their shoulders and did as she said.

"What is it?" Lina asked, concerned.

"What does it mean when a guy calls you 'pretty?'"

"Oh," Lina said, relieved that nothing appeared wrong. "There's three simple things to it, really. When a guy calls you hot, he's looking at your body. When a guys says you're pretty, he's looking at your face… but when a guy tells you that you're beautiful, he's looking at your heart."

"So he was looking at my looks… all right then." Lily replied, and suddenly felt sad as a memory from her first day at Hogwarts came back to her.

"_Wow," Lily breathed. "It's absolutely beautiful…" She saw James looking at her from the corner of her eye. "What?"_

"_I… So are you, Lily." _

_Her breath caught in her chest at he slid his hand along her jaw line. He pulled her lightly towards him, then laid his lips on hers._

She groaned. "Aww man, why did I have to remember that now?"

"Remember what?" Lina asked.

"James called me beautiful," she replied softly.

Lina rolled her eyes. "James is also a back stabbing jerk."

Lily shrugged. "It was still sweet… come on, then, I'm hungry."

Once she sat down, she went into a very animated conversation with Tyler. Before she knew it, breakfast was over and the huge crowds of students were making their way from the Entrance Hall to Hogsmeade.

Lily and Tyler were holding hands again, and Lily was talking to him very energetically. She was practically hopping up and down because she was so excited. Tyler was going to lead her around, since he'd been there plenty of times before.

"Hey, want to go get a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks?" Tyler asked.

"A what?" Lily said, totally confused.

"It's a really good drink! Here, the door is right there. Let's go in!"

They entered the bar, and Lily saw a few other people she knew there. Tyler ordered the drinks, and Lily went to find an empty seat.

"OY! LILY! OVER HERE!" Sirius yelled.

"I'm sorry Sirius, I would if I was here alone, but I'm here with my boyfriend."

Sirius looked a little jealous at her words, but he quickly wiped the look off his face, and said, "Well, next time, try to be alone! I feel like I don't know you anymore!" he laughed.

"Well, I'll be in the common room tonight, just for you!" she grinned back. "We'll chat then. Oops, there's Tyler with the drinks! I'll talk to you later."

They took the table across from Sirius, Peter, James, and Remus. James kept glancing at her from out of the corner of his eye.

Tyler slipped in the seat across from Lily, then set the drinks down. He seemed to have noticed the longing looks too, and it boosted his confidence some. He knew that there were some guys jealous that he'd scored someone like Lily, but he never knew _the _James Potter liked her.

Tyler started talking about the first approaching Quidditch match, and Lily took a sip of her drink.

The subject faltered. Suddenly, Lily noticed Tyler was staring at her. She looked up from her almost-empty drink and right into his brilliant blue eyes. His gaze seeped into hers too. He slowly moved forward, as did Lily. James and the rest of his table seemed to notice the movement, and they quit talking and moving to watch.

Their lips touched. He was a very good kisser, obviously experienced. Lily felt like she was soaring above the ground on a broom again, and they stayed together for several moments. When they finally pulled apart, they both had smiles on their faces. Tyler grabbed her hand and they both left the Three Broomsticks.

James looked like he'd swallowed a teaspoon of Zonko's Emotion Potion, which caused the drinker to switch feelings rapidly. First he looked shocked, then in denial, then hatred and hurt spread across his face. He stood up, his legs shaky. "Er… I think… I think that I need to go. Yeah. Er, go. Back… back to the castle! You'll see us guys later, I hope… I mean… I hope I'll see you guys later. Yeah. Bye."

"I… he really liked her, didn't he?" Sirius asked nervously.

"Yeah, Sirius, I think he did. He hurt her; she hurt him. It's like a cycle, isn't it?" Remus asked, looking up from his book.

"And… and I think it's all because of…me." Sirius said, then ran out of the pub.

"What is with them?" Peter questioned, flabbergasted.

"Sirius and James were both madly in love with Lily, just like everyone else, but James got to her first and Sirius got mad." Remus reeled off, then reopened his novel.

"Oh."


	14. Unexpected Support

Four nights later, also known as Halloween, Lily made her way down to the Great Hall for dinner. As she entered it, she couldn't help but to gasp. It looked magnificent; gigantic pumpkins crowded the walls, live bats flew around, and orange and black banners where draped tastefully around the room. She sat at he designated table and began to talk when Dumbledore stood up.

"You do not know how lovely it is for me to see the joy that a holiday such as this has created. Unfortunately, I must remind you all that exams will be near the end of February, so it is vastly important that you begin to study now. Also, in just a few months, Christmas will be here. Please remember that there are two options for the holidays; you may spend your vacation time either here at the castle, or at home, with your family. Hogwarts will always be delighted to have you. Now that all is said, dig in. There has been a delicious feast prepared for you all."

As people began to reach for the food, a huge barn owl swooped into the Hall and landed gracefully in front of Lily. She looked around awkwardly, noticing the stares. Fumbling, she reached for the letter and the owl left. She read it, crumpled it up, and fell off of her chair, looking petrified.

James rushed to her side. "Lily, Lily, are you okay? Let me see the note… hand it over." She did as he instructed and his eyes grew wide as he scanned the parchment. "Come on, let's get out of here. I'm taking you to the Hospital Wing."

He picked her up and pushed through the on looking crowd, not making eye contact with anyone as they stood up from their tables, trying to see what was wrong.

"Oh, James, you don't have to do this," she cried as they left the feast. "After everything I've done to you… Kissing Tyler in front of you, oh I was so horrible… Let me go; I don't deserve your support."

"Shh, Lily. Don't worry about that, it's all in the past. It's all going to be okay; everything will be fine… It'll be okay, Lily."

••••

The next morning, Lily awoke to see James sitting next to her, stroking her hair. "Morning. You have a crowd outside waiting, but Madam Lalyik wouldn't let them in while you were asleep. Would you like to see everyone?"

"Sure," she said groggily.

James went to the door and opened it. A large wave of students stood there, from kids who she'd tutored to some of her dearest friends. She searched the crowd expectantly, but was disappointed to see Tyler missing.

Lina looked at her as if she knew whom Lily was searching for, but she didn't say anything.

Lily smiled automatically, hiding her emotions. "Hey everyone."

"Oh, Lily, we're finally so glad you're awake!" Mary cried, hugging her friend gently.

"How long have I been out?"

"A few days," Lina replied. "Madam Pomfery even tried to ban James from the Hospital Wing; of course he didn't listen. The only times he left your side was when he got some food and used the bathroom."

James blushed. Just then, the class bell rang. Everyone hugged Lily, gave her presents, and left to go to class. The only two people remaining were James and Lina.

"Is that true?" Lily asked softly.

He turned red. "Yeah, I suppose."

Lily grinned inwardly, then changed the subject. "Why was I in here for so long? I thought I was here for just a night."

"Madam Pomfery said you'd gone into a state of shock," Lina said. "She said you couldn't cope with what happened."

"So you know, then?"

"No. James wouldn't let anyone see the note, not even Professor Dumbledore; he said you had a right to your privacy and no one should break that with out your knowledge. Then he put a bunch of hexes and spells around it so no one could read it; I mean, yeah, Dumbledore could've gotten around it, but I swear that no one else in the grades here could've. Will you tell me what happened?"

Throughout Lina's monologue, Lily was watching James with surprise and shock. "I… I really appreciate that, James. Yeah, I suppose you can read the note, if James will let you."

As James went to set off the hexes, Lily asked Lina a question that'd been bugging her at the back of her mind. "Tyler?"

"Well, er… Lily… I've… we've got to tell you something… and James almost killed him when her find out… Tyler's been cheating on you."


	15. Diamonds and a Dress

Lily's mouth dropped open, and she blinked several times. She didn't know whether to cry or to feel relieved. "Wow."

"Wow?" James asked quizzically.

Lily breather deeply. "Did he really?"

"Yeah," Lina promised. "You should've seen James; I would've tried to kill Tyler myself, except James had sent so many curses at him that there wasn't much left to do."

Lily raised her eyebrows, surprised. James was blushing again. He handed her the note, and as Lina sat down to read it, Lily studied James. "Why? After everything I did to you… I didn't even really like him…"

He shrugged his shoulders and looked at the floor awkwardly. "I just didn't want to see you hurt anymore."

Lily looked into his eyes, searching to see if he meant it. He did.

Lina stood up, breaking the silence. "Oh, Lily, I'm sorry!" She flung her arms around Lily in a hug, then handed her the note. Lily looked over it again.

Dearest Lily,

I have some bad news for you. Your mother has died. I need to make arrangements for the funeral. I don't think it's a good idea for you to come home just yet; maybe over Christmas. You can pay your last respects then.

Love always,

Dad

Lily shook silently. "I still don't get it though… why wouldn't he want me home? If I don't come until Christmas then I'll miss the funeral and everything…"

James looked at her. "It is odd… Maybe his is a messy state; doesn't want you to see him."

"I know but… that can't just be it… you don't think… you don't think he hurt her, do you?" Lina asked, almost reluctantly.

"No!" Lily gasped. "He wouldn't do anything like that…"

"I was just wondering," she replied hurriedly, trying to clear the air. Another bell rang, and Lina hugged Lily again. "I'm so sorry… I'm sure everything will be okay… I've got to go, but I love you, girl."

As she left, she decided that she'd do anything to see her friend happy again.

••••

"James?" Lily whispered, as the night had fallen and a sixth year a few beds over was trying to sleep. They were still in the Hospital wing, and James hadn't left her side since earlier that day.

He picked his head off of his shoulder and yawned. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for everything that I've put you through… I was so mean. Thanks, though."

"For what?"

"For staying with me," she hugged him, and was relieved that he was on her good side again.

••••

The next two months flew by; Lily had written her father on several occasions, with no reply. Before she knew it, Professor McGonagall was passing around a sheet, asking students to sign it that were stating for the holidays. Lily did not put her name on the list. She knew that her family needed her, so she went upstairs to pack her bags. It would be nice to return home.

She was almost done when she heard a knock at her dorm door. "Come in!"

Peter, Remus, James, Sirius, Malfoy, Snape, Tyler, Lina, Christy, Mary, and Maria all entered.

"Wha-how'd you get in here?"

James shrugged his shoulders, then turned around and acted in mock surprise. "Oh, look, people from other houses are in here! Well, while were all here…"

He handed her a large box with red wrapping and a gold bow on top.

"What's this?" Lily asked, taken aback.

"Your Christmas present," Sirius said. "It's from all of us; the gits here actually chipped in!"

Lucius shot Sirius a dirty look. "Of course we did; my family has a plenty of gold…"

"Shut up before you choke on your own ego," Tyler hissed.

Lily sat on her bed. "You guys didn't have to do this."

"Ah, but we did," said Remus, tapping his nose. "So you might as well open it."

Lily grinned then carefully tore off the paper. Inside was a finely furnished wooden ox. Noticing a hinge, she opened that also. A beautiful diamond necklace with matching earrings gleamed happily at her. She felt her jaw drop. "Oh my gosh, you have to be joking me! Thank you so much everyone!"

Lina smiled, looking extremely satisfied. "There's more."

Lily's eyes grew larger, and she looked disbelieving. She dug back into the box and pulled out a soft white dress. She held it up to her chest, and the hem tickled the floor gracefully. "Oh wow, everyone! Thank you so much… but whatever will I use this for?"

James smiled knowingly. "I'm sure you'll find a use…"

She threw her arms around each of her friend's necks. "Oh thank you… everything had to be so expensive though…"

"It wasn't so much with everyone chipping in," James replied. "And anyway, mum said I could spend up to one hundred galleons each, so don't worry about us over spending."

Everyone glanced at James in disbelief, except for Malfoy, who just rolled his eyes.

After some muffled discussion, everyone left except for James.

"I've gotten you something else, too."

He handed over another present.


End file.
